Rule #1: I make the rules and may adjust any or all of them at any time in my exclusive and unreviewable discretion for whatever reason I want.

Rule #2: I will announce, in this thread, any special rules that apply in any given round. This is really the only thread that the participants need to focus on. Spectators (non-participants) are more than welcome to post insightful comments, speculation, analysis or taunts on the thread.

Rule #3: Unless the rules for a particular round state otherwise, each player on each team gets ONE vote per round. That vote may not be split into fractions. ONE vote. Period. In order to make your vote, send it to me in a private message. Feel free to add any editorial comments you desire. Please put the word "Vote" somewhere in the PM caption.

Rule #4: Unless otherwise specified, every "living" (ie not eliminated) player MUST file a "legal" vote every round. For the first 6 rounds, everyone gets one "mulligan" which you should save for an emergency. In other words, each of you is entitled to "miss" one (and only one) vote somewhere in the first 6 rounds. If you miss two votes in the first six rounds you are OUT.

Rule #5: As a general rule, we will have 5 votes per week, all of them usually due by Noon, Denver time, Monday through Friday. Each round will last roughly 24 hours, and you can PM me your vote at any time during that round. In an extreme case, I will allow players to file a vote ONE ROUND in advance, but this is at your own risk, because if you pick a target that turns out to be illegal, that's a "missed vote."

Rule #6: In your vote, you must clearly name and specify your "target." I do not accept "indefinite" votes for things like "whoever has the votes from the most other people" or "whoever George votes for" or "whoever voted against me last round", etc.

Rule #7: You may not vote for yourself. Nor may you vote against any player who has IMMUNITY for that particular round.

Rule #8: You may not vote for a non-player (such as the Mole, or Taco John, or Barrack Obama.) Nor may you vote for someone who has been kicked off the island, to kick him even further off.

Rule #9: After the votes are all in (or after the deadline for the round expires) I will publish the results on this thread, including who voted for who. There may be an exception - - called a blackout round - - when only the results, but not the breakdown will be published. Any such blackouts will be announced at the start of the round.

Rule #10: For Rounds ONE THROUGH FIVE, you may only cast your vote against a member of the opposing team. This means if you are on The Orange Dragon Team, you can only cast your vote against a member of the Blue Tiger Team. If you are a member of the Blue Tiger Team, you can only cast your vote against a member of the Orange Dragon Team. This may continue for a long time. All I'm saying now is that this is definitely the rule for Rounds ONE THROUGH FIVE.

Rule #11: I will generally NOT reveal anything about the status of an ongoing vote until all the votes are in or until the deadline expires. I might chuckle and chortle or make cryptic & misleading remarks. I might sometimes "leak" out information or "clues" about upcoming rounds (rules changes) to the Mole, or to any poster who is sufficiently entertaining on the main thread. Information is power. Watch your REP boxes.

Rule #12: Tiebreakers. Until further notice, in order to determine who got the "most votes" and the second-most, etc. the following will apply:

(a) a player who has missed a vote will be considered a higher vote-getter than one who hasn't.

(b) the number of prior votes against a player. A player who has a lot of votes against him from previous rounds will be considered to be a higher vote-getter, for purposes of breaking ties, than one who has received fewer prior votes.

(c) the first player to have received a vote against him/her in that particular round will be considered a higher vote getter, for tie breaking purposes, than one whose first adverse vote was received by me later on.

Sometimes it is good to be the highest vote-getter; sometimes NOT.

In Rounds ONE through FIVE (at least) the highest vote-getter on each team will STAY in the game. In addition, they will be awarded IMMUNITY against votes on the following round. The second-place vote getters on each team will be destroyed, eliminated, kicked off the island, etc., etc.

The Specific Rules for ROUND ONE will be posted by me on this thread on Friday, March 7. The deadline for ROUND ONE Voting will be Noon, Denver Time, Monday, March 10.*

Play nice and have a good time.

* Edit: Please be aware that Daylight Savings Time goes into effect over the weekend, so that all clocks in Denver will be moved up one hour between now and the 10th.

In Rounds ONE through FIVE (at least) the highest vote-getter on each team will STAY in the game. In addition, they will be awarded IMMUNITY against votes on the following round. The second-place vote getters on each team will be destroyed, eliminated, kicked off the island, etc., etc.

The Specific Rules for ROUND ONE will be posted by me on this thread on Friday, March 7. The deadline for ROUND ONE Voting will be Noon, Denver Time, Monday, March 10.

Rule #11: I will generally NOT reveal anything about the status of an ongoing vote until all the votes are in or until the deadline expires. I might chuckle and chortle or make cryptic & misleading remarks. I might sometimes "leak" out information or "clues" about upcoming rounds (rules changes) to the Mole, or to any poster who is sufficiently entertaining on the main thread. Information is power. Watch your REP boxes.

I believe we gave you a few laughs last year hope this year is equally entertaining.

2. In previous episodes of Survivor, piling on - stampedes - dogpiles - whatever you want to call them - made things a little too predictable. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out where a stampede is headed. Figuring out where the secondary stampede is going might require more intution and effort. And it unfortunately does lend itself to more backstabbing & misdirection. Just because you see a big stampede headed in one direction doesn't mean you're safe. You could be killed by as little as one or two stray, random, thoughtless votes. Make lots of friends but don't hesitate to shove them in front of the bus if things get sticky. You can always explain that you heard they were being ganged up on and just wanted to push them higher up the ladder and out of harm's way.

2. In previous episodes of Survivor, piling on - stampedes - dogpiles - whatever you want to call them - made things a little too predictable. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out where a stampede is headed. Figuring out where the secondary stampede is going might require more intution and effort. And it unfortunately does lend itself to more backstabbing & misdirection. Just because you see a big stampede headed in one direction doesn't mean you're safe. You could be killed by as little as one or two stray, random, thoughtless votes. Make lots of friends but don't hesitate to shove them in front of the bus if things get sticky. You can always explain that you heard they were being ganged up on and just wanted to push them higher up the ladder and out of harm's way.